iOpportunity
by bsloths
Summary: Sam uses Brad to get closer to Freddie, but it doesn't quite work out the way she plans. Set during "iOMG." Oneshot. Seddie.


This oneshot delves into Sam's feelings leading up to _iOMG_'s OMG moment. The idea of Sam wanting to spend time with Freddie came a little out of left field (though as a plot device for the episode it worked really well). This is my attempt to flesh it out and justify it a little.

Enjoy!

-Brandi

Disclaimer: _iCarly_'s plots and characters live in the gloriously warped and creative mind of one Mr. Daniel Schneider. Exactly where they belong. I'm just gonna borrow Sam for a bit, but I'll put her right back, hopefully unscathed.

**iOpportunity **

Brad gave Sam the perfect opportunity she hadn't known she'd been looking for.

Carly was her best friend. She loved having girls' nights and hanging with just her. But she never got to do that with Freddie. It was always Sam and Carly; or Sam, Freddie, and Carly; or Sam, Freddie, Carly, and Gibby. Sometimes Spencer joined the groups. And sometimes it was even Carly and Gibby, since they worked on school projects together a lot. So where did that leave Sam and Freddie?

She wanted to see what it would be like to hang out with Freddie one on one, now that they were actually, you know, (gag) friends. So sue her, she was curious. She had a feeling that he'd shied away from that possibility ever happening again after the whole Melanie chizfest. He didn't really trust Sam after that, and she couldn't blame him. Her sister had certainly done a number on him, that's for sure. Sam couldn't have predicted they'd go out _and_ make out. When Melanie left, all opportunities to see Freddie without Carly around disappeared, too. Sure, they saw each other between classes and sometimes while waiting for Carly to meet them somewhere, but that didn't count. She wanted real, legit hang time.

She didn't really get why it was so important to her. But it was, and so she was stuck wondering what being one-on-one friends with Freddie would be like.

When Freddie and Brad became friends, Sam saw the perfect opening. She could be buddies with both of them (all the while getting free fudge out of the deal), and then maybe she and Freddie could casually start seeing each other without Brad. Forget to invite him _here_, tell him the wrong time to show up _there_ … he wasn't an established member of their group yet, so it could totally work. Brad was so convenient that way.

He came into the group at a convenient time, too. Sam was just starting to look at Freddie in a way that made her very, very nervous.

Nervous because she didn't _want_ to have those feelings, _couldn't_ have those feelings. But he was looking so hot lately. She didn't know when his biceps had gotten so big, but really, they were distracting. As was his ever-deepening voice, and sexy smirk when he knew he had one-upped her (which, of course, she didn't see that often, because let's face it, Mama always wins in the end).

It was the little, nonphysical things, too, like how he listened, really listened, to everything she had to say. How he gave that nice speech at her last birthday party (even though she spent the week before torturing him). How he kept extra food for her in his locker on days when her mom had forgotten to give her money or, worse, packed her a lunch. How they would catch themselves saying the same thing at the same time, and how he sometimes even finished her sentences. How he gave her money, no questions asked, when she needed it, even though he knew he wasn't getting it back. How he got rid of Carly's friend Missy when she found out Missy was a backstabbing skunkbag. (Yes, Carly told her about that, and she never admitted to Freddie that she knew. But that didn't matter. _She_ knew.)

She also knew that it was just a crush. He was a cute boy, she was a normal (okay, semi-normal) girl. She was allowed to get crushes. Heck, even Carly had had a crush on him when he saved her life.

Sam kept her feelings to herself. Kissing a guy once didn't give a girl license to go to pieces over him. It worked to her advantage that she wasn't very good with guys anyway. She always had trouble vocalizing her feelings. That made her safe from Carly—or_ Socko forbid_, Freddie—ever finding out the truth. Brad's presence solved all of her problems and helped her deal with her feelings without having to act on them.

She had been enjoying her time with the guys, and she and Freddie were getting along great. Now that she had his undivided attention so much of the time, she felt less of a need to cause him bodily harm. Having Brad around actually helped them get closer, too. They introduced him to all of their favorite places, including every meat-selling vendor in a 5-mile radius. Carly never would have thought those places were important, but Freddie did.

Sam couldn't help but wonder if he was going to those places for her and not for Brad. But she tried not to read too much into it. Freddie enjoyed a good bratwurst on a stick as much as anyone. (Right?)

She was fine until that stupid mood app went and changed everything. Apparently, it wasn't just a crush. Sam couldn't say she was surprised to realize that, but it was a little scary knowing how deep her feelings really went, after she tried to deny them for so long.

Sam should have known that Carly wouldn't let something like this go. She could cuddle with her ham sandwich all she wanted, but Carly was just too stubborn to see that she should not be meddling in Sam's love life. Sam stayed out of hers, so didn't it stand to reason that Carly stayed out of Sam's? Guess not.

She was already on edge from her fight with Carls when Freddie found her sulking into her water bottle.

He was being really sweet to her out in the courtyard. She knew she could always count on him for rational conversation and advice, so she told him the truth. But he still wasn't getting it through his thick tech-geek skull that she was _not_ in love. Mood app or no mood app, she couldn't be positive about what she was feeling for _Freddie_, but she sure as heck wasn't in love with _Brad_.

She saw Freddie's lips moving, heard his words about going for it, and somehow her mouth was moving toward his.

It wasn't fair, really. She hadn't meant to do that. But there she was, doing it, as awkwardly as the first time, but she felt the same warm feeling she had before. Like kissing Freddie was really natural, and yet really stinkin' weird at the same time. He smelled like aftershave and guacamole, and she could feel the tension in his shoulders under her grip on his arms, but he didn't pull away.

When it was over, she couldn't tell what he was feeling, and that made her even more uncomfortable than before. He needed to say something! When he continued to look perplexed, she apologized for her momentary lapse in judgment. But she couldn't tell if his reply meant, "It's cool" as in "I accept your apology, but don't ever do that again," or "It's cool" as in "I don't mind at all that you kissed me, and please keep doing it."

They stared at each other, her stomach doing flips, until she couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't saying he loved her back, so that could mean only one thing.

He hated her just as much as she _pretended_ to hate him. Now what?


End file.
